If you had to select one room in your workplace as being the most important from a cleaning standpoint, would you choose the restroom? If so, you are not alone. It turns out employees are very particular about restroom conditions. So much so that restroom cleanliness has a direct impact on employee morale.
As a company specializing in commercial cleaning services in Boston, it has been our experience that making clean restrooms of priority has a positive impact on employee attitudes. Another way to say it is that employee morale improves when previously dirty restrooms are maintained in a clean and presentable state.
A Measure of Value
If restroom cleanliness affects employee morale, the big question is why. For that, we turn to a study conducted by the CDC a little more than a decade ago. Although the study is rather old, it is hard to imagine much has changed since then – especially given what we all went through during the COVID pandemic.
According to the study’s data, 83% of employees believe restroom cleanliness is an indicator of how much their employers value them. That’s huge. It means that eight out of every ten people that work in your office partly perceive their own value to the company based on what they experience in the restrooms.
Study data also revealed the following:
- 66% of respondents rated workplace restrooms as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.
- 33% reported routine problems with clogged toilets, odors, and towel dispensers.
- 11% reported frequently seeing coworkers leave the restroom without washing their hands.
It is clear from the data that workplace restrooms are not as clean and tidy as they could be, on average. And if the first statistic mentioned in this post is accurate, those restrooms that aren’t making the grade are having a negative impact on employee morale.
Implications of Poor Morale
Talking about employee morale leads to a bunch of questions screaming for answers. For example, does poor morale correlate with a lack of job satisfaction? Absolutely. Many of the same employees who believe restroom cleanliness is a marker of their value also say that their job satisfaction is directly affected by restroom condition.
When employee morale is low, employees are less likely to be satisfied with their work. They are less likely to be engaged because their own self-worth is in decline. If their employers don’t value them and their work, why should they? That’s what it works out to.
The Solution Is an Easy One
We could continue with more statistics and citations, but the point has been made clearly enough. Let’s move on to the solution. Make no mistake about it, the solution to dirty restrooms is an easy one.
Prioritizing regular restroom cleaning and sanitizing significantly reduces the chances that employees will have a negative perception of the company. So at the bare minimum, a janitorial or day porter staff should be cleaning restrooms several times per day. Go above and beyond to make the restrooms shine, and they could actually boost employee morale.
We recommend daily janitorial or porter services – whether handled in-house by employees or provided by a commercial cleaning service – supported by full-fledged commercial cleaning after hours. Between the two, restrooms can be kept as clean as possible.
Restroom condition plays a vital role in employee perceptions of their own value and the quality of their workplace. If the restrooms in your place of business are not being kept clean, your company is hindering its own ability to retain good workers. You can change that by bringing in a commercial cleaning service or hiring day porters.